1. Field of the Invention
Supports, Cabinet structures--Arrangements of plural cabinets with interposed table; With movable components horizontally movable (e.g. drawer). Horizontally movable with latch, lock or gravity closer; Knockdown or setup type with adjacent walls rigidly interlocked, opposite walls rigidly interlocked and free standing in final configuration.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Modular furniture units are well known in the prior art. Modular storage units are also well known in the prior art. A typical modular system is comprised of stackable cube-shaped containers having the overall configuration of a square box. The front of each cube unit is open so that a series of shelves, drawer inserts, or a hinged door can be positioned at the front opening of the cube. In other configurations, the cube is an elongate rectangular-shaped unit having the same overall dimensions as two cubes would have if stacked one on top of each other, or placed side by side. In this configuration, the top and the bottom panels are square and rectangular in shape while the sides and the back panels are rectangular but not square in shape. The cubes can be stacked and arranged so that they will be placed one upon the other, or side by side, to form a storage or wall unit.
The modular cube units known in the prior art have right angle corners and are comprised of wood or particle board construction. The five panels which comprise a typical cube are fabricated at the factory .and cannot be disassembled and rearranged in different configurations. The panels comprising a cube are fastened together along with the shelves, drawers and hinges so that there is no means to rearrange the individual panels and shelves to create a different collection of modular units. Additionally, the individual square cube or rectangular cube modular units, which are stacked together to form the entire system, usually do not have interlocking means for interlocking the various cubes to form an integrated rigid free standing storage or wall unit. They simply rest on top of one another by means of gravity and/or they are stacked side by side to form a complete unit. Quite frequently the prior art modular units are boxed and sold as unassembled parts along with instructions, screws, nails, glue, and hardware so that the purchaser can assemble the modular unit by himself. Even so, the fasteners and glue result in a permanent configuration and the individual panels cannot be separated and rearranged to form another type of configuration if so desired by the purchaser.